“I’ve made a horrible mistake”, I announced to my now-ex-wife through teary eyes as we sat across from each other at the dinner table and I anxiously poked my fork into my cold mashed potatoes over and over again.  I was a few months into a job change at the company I had been with for about 4 years.  The new position came with a little more money and a lot more responsibility.  Truthfully, I was just looking for a change and wanted to learn something new.  It’s also true that I was struggling under this new challenge.  I was visibly overwhelmed, stressed and felt like I couldn’t do anything right.  One of the distinct aspects of this position was autonomy.  I was alone in a large, windowless building surrounded by servers and network equipment.  Whirring fans and blinking lights greeted me each day as I walked in the door.  Each day felt heavier and heavier as I knew it was only a matter of time until my coworkers and leadership realized I was completely underqualified and clearly couldn’t’ do this job.

We’ve all been there – questioning if we’re good enough, feeling like a fraud despite our achievements. It’s commonly referred to as “imposter syndrome” and studies over the last 40 years suggest upwards of 70-80% of people in the workforce have experienced it at some point. But what if your workplace is making you feel that way? Could your struggles instead be a sign of poor leadership?

First, let’s go through some of the common symptoms of both:

Imposter Syndrome:

• Persistent self-doubt despite success.
• Fear of being exposed as incompetent.
• Attributing success to luck, not skill.
• Perfectionism and overworking.
• Difficulty accepting praise.
• Comparing oneself unfavorably to others.
• Feeling like an impostor.

Poor Leadership:

• Decreased job satisfaction.
• Increased turnover intentions.
• Reduced productivity.
• High stress or burnout.
• Poor team cohesion.
• Lack of clear direction.
• Ineffective communication.
• Unhealthy work environment.

While both can lead to stress and decreased job satisfaction, their roots commonly come from different sources: imposter syndrome is primarily internal, while poor leadership is external.

However, they can interact:

• Poor leadership can exacerbate imposter syndrome.  A lack of clear direction and feedback leaves you constantly wondering if you’re doing a good job.
• Imposter syndrome can make you more sensitive to poor leadership. It’s hard to deal with the external impact of poor leadership when you’re already spending so much energy battling your own doubt.

So, if you’re feeling like an impostor, ask yourself:

• Is my boss providing clear guidance and support?
• Does the work environment foster growth and recognition?

If not, it might not be just you; it could be the leadership.

But if you feel like you have a great boss who communicates, provides clear direction and seems to be helping you grow and learn – and you still feel like a fraud: it’s worth reading up on imposter syndrome and understanding it’s likely causes and established effects.  Learn to trust good leadership.  Trust that they see your potential even if you’re having a hard time doing it yourself.

And, obviously, it could be a little bit of both.

Take steps to address each:

• For imposter syndrome: consider other underlying mental health issues like ADHD, depression, CPTSD and anxiety, practice self-compassion.
• For poor leadership: Communicate with your boss, look for ways to improve the work environment, or consider a job change.

Over the years at that new position mentioned at the beginning of this article; I wound up becoming a phenomenal troubleshooter.  I launched countless successful projects and made major contributions to the success of my department and even trained new guys.  While I’ve stayed with the same company, I’ve continued to seek out new roles and challenges and eventually moved into a leadership role despite being resistant to that idea for the majority of my career.  Everyone one of those positions on the way were peppered with imposter syndrome and I still, to this day, experience it when something goes wrong.  “I should have caught that” bounces around my head on a regular basis.  I honestly don’t think it will ever go away and as I consider making a huge change in my life – contemplating leaning more into leadership and leadership training; my brain is already pre-gaming its strategy.  But, knowing my past behaviors means having a pretty good idea of my self-doubt’s playbook – and, I like my odds.